


How Daichi Became Dadchi

by ThatOneAwkwardFangirl_Liz_Cecil



Series: Valentine's Shorts 2019 [9]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (Petty Setter Squad), Alternate Universe - Hospital, Alternate Universe - Police, Cop!Daichi, Crime Fighting, Detectives, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pretty Setter Squad, Ryuu Gets Arrested, Single Father Iwaizumi, Single Parents, So sue me, Suga is a suffering father, Teen!Yuu, and the rest is history p much, because it happened 2 years ago, but only mentioned, child!shouyou, for now that's it, nurse!Suga - Freeform, okay so there's some hints of crack, teen!ryuu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2019-11-06 01:50:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17930510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOneAwkwardFangirl_Liz_Cecil/pseuds/ThatOneAwkwardFangirl_Liz_Cecil
Summary: Daichi always liked the quiet, the predictability, of his life. There weren’t exactly murders and thefts and big crimes going on around here, so he took his position in stride. It was to serve and protect, even if that meant helping old ladies cross the street or helping someone find their dog. He liked the calm.But all of that was pushed to the back of his mind when a silver-haired man with one of the most beautiful faces he’d ever laid eyes on ran into the precinct, an orange-haired toddler on his hip, shirt untucked and eyes bright with some combination of disappointment and panic.Ah, Daichi thought, this must be the father of the teen we brought in for vandalism.“Ah, can I help you?” he asked, stepping forward.“Yes – yes, I’m –!” The man was out of breath, probably from running under the weight of a child. “I’m Sugawara Koushi, I’m here to post bail for my son, Sugawara Ryuunosuke?”Daichi nodded. “Of course, Sugawara-san. I’m Detective Sawamura Daichi.”-Or:Suga meets Daichi when he goes to bail his son, Ryuu, out of jail.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Last fic to be posted this month! So, there were five that I never got around to, but I'll just post them next month. It's no big deal. Anyways~! This fic is about Suga being a single dad to Ryuu, Yuu, and Shouyou (obviously their family names have been changed for the purpose of the fic), and it's been two years since his husband died. Daichi is a detective who happened to be there when Suga came into the station, and well, you know how DaiSuga goes. Love at first sight or whatever, haha.
> 
> This is going to be fun and fluffy and funny and maybe even a _little_ smutty (but not explicit most likely cuz your enby here is hella ace and hella into girls and there's just a lot that I don't think I could write, aha), but it's also going to be angsty, with a healthy dose of emotional hurt/comfort. Who knows, maybe even physical hurt/comfort (Dai is a cop, after all). But it's very close to my heart, you know? I'm the child of a single mother and I saw a lot of what she went through these last 19 years and a lot of those feelings are strongly infused into this fic, starting with chapter two.
> 
> Sooo yeah, just, I hope you enjoy! It's going to be fun, but it's also going to be kinda cathartic for me I guess. I dunno! Anyways. Love yall and thanks so much for reading<3

Detective Sawamura was having a perfectly average day, and he wasn’t disappointed by that. Average meant that crime was low, and the officers were doing their jobs, and everything in their small town was as quiet as it ought to be.

Daichi always liked the quiet, the predictability, of his life. There weren’t exactly murders and thefts and big crimes going on around here, so he took his position in stride. It was to serve and protect, even if that meant helping old ladies cross the street or helping someone find their dog. He liked the calm.

But all of that was pushed to the back of his mind when a silver-haired man with one of the most beautiful faces he’d ever laid eyes on ran into the precinct, an orange-haired toddler on his hip, shirt untucked and eyes bright with some combination of disappointment and panic.

_Ah_ , Daichi thought, _this must be the father of the teen we brought in for vandalism._

“Ah, can I help you?” he asked, stepping forward.

“Yes – yes, I’m –!” The man was out of breath, probably from running under the weight of a child. “I’m Sugawara Koushi, I’m here to post bail for my son, Sugawara Ryuunosuke?”

Daichi nodded. “Of course, Sugawara-san. I’m Detective Sawamura Daichi.”

“ _Detective_?” Sugawara-san gasped. “Oh, my god! Was it that bad? What did he do? Oh, my god. He’s a good boy, Detective, I swear, but his father died a couple of years ago from cancer and ever since he’s been finding new and creative ways to act out and I just don’t know what to do because between him and my other sons I feel like I’m completely failing as a parent and I have to take so many shifts at the hospital just to make ends meet but then I’m hardly home and I’m relying on Tooru and Keiji to help me out but they’ve got their own _lives_ and I’m such a bad father–”

“Sugawara-san?” Daichi interrupted, frowning in concern. “Would you like to sit down? Can I get you some water or something?”

“Thank you,” he whimpered, taking a seat and putting the toddler on his lap. “Sorry, it’s been a day, I didn’t mean to unload that all on you, Detective.”

“Please, Sugawara-san, call me Daichi,” he offered, sitting in the chair beside Sugawara-san. “Your son isn’t in serious trouble. It’s his first offense, and it was just vandalism. Nothing that your own scolding couldn’t handle, I’m sure?”

“That’s just the _thing_ , Daichi-san,” Sugawara sighed. “Ryu doesn’t listen to me anymore. I – well – I was sort of hoping you could help me out there? Which I was going to say before I had a meltdown.”

Daichi nodded. “Ah, yes, of course. What can I do for you, then, Sugawara-san? Do you want me to leave him in the clink for an extra half hour?” He was mostly joking.

Sugawara’s eyes brightened, however. “Would you? Oh, god, I probably sound like such a bad father right now.”

Daichi waved him off. “Honestly, it’s not the worst thing in the world. Might teach him a lesson, right?”

“Is there anything else? Like, community service? Maybe doing some work around here to teach him a thing or two about being a law-abiding citizen?” Sugawara kissed the orange hair of his toddler and sighed. “This is my youngest, Shouyou.”

“Hi, Shouyou,” Daichi said, smiling at the little one. “I could possibly arrange for Ryuunosuke to do some work around the precinct. I could assign him to…the resident delinquents? That’s kind of cruel and unusual though.”

“No, that’s perfect! Tell me about them!” Sugawara begged.

“Well, they would be Detectives Kuroo and Bokuto. They’re great cops, but exhausting to be around,” he chuckled. “Mostly due to their endless supply of energy.”

Sugawara grinned. “Oh, that’s _perfect_ , Detective. You’d really do that?”

“Yeah. It’s the least I could do,” Daichi assured him.

It was _not_. It was kind of the most he could do. Daichi wasn’t usually jumping to do that for the parents of punk teens, but something in his brain compelled him to make an exception. It was only possibly related to how handsome Sugawara was, or how cute little Shouyou was.

“Papa, where’s Ryuu-nii?” Shouyou asked, frowning up at Sugawara.

Sugawara sighed and bounced him on his knee. “Nii-chan’s in some trouble, but he’ll be ready to come home soon, Shou-chan. Right now, we’re talking to the very nice detective.”

Shouyou looked at Daichi with big eyes, and Daichi started to melt. “I’m Daichi,” he reintroduced himself.

Shouyou frowned harder and looked back at Sugawara.

“It’s okay, baby, you can say hi. He’s a nice man,” Sugawara promised.

“Hi,” Shouyou squeaked before hiding in his father’s chest.

“He’s a little shy around strangers these days,” Sugawara sighed, holding him closer. “Used to be the most social baby, but…” His eyes went distant before the light returned to them. “Ah, he’s just starting to be a bit more of a self-aware little human,” he cooed.

“He’s very cute,” Daichi chuckled, smiling fondly. “How old is he?”

“Four, going on five,” Suga replied. “We – uh, I – adopted him when he was only a month old. Ryuunosuke and Yuu used to be so good because they were trying to set good examples for him.”

“Yuu?”

Sugawara nodded. “My other son. He’s fifteen, like Ryuunosuke. Technically, he’s my stepson, from my marriage, his father and I were married when he was five, so we usually ignore that.”

“Well, at least he’s not in jail too,” Daichi offered.

“Ha! Yeah, you’re right. But Yuu doesn’t listen to me because I’m not his father, Ryuu doesn’t listen to me because I _am_ his father, and they both have super responsible boyfriends who I feel like I’m asking to babysit them half the time.”

“That sounds hard,” Daichi sighed, not sure what else to say. “You look like you haven’t slept in months.”

“Please.” Sugawara gave an empty laugh. “I haven’t slept in the two years since my husband died. My idea of a wild night out is sitting on one of my best friends’ couches and drinking an entire bottle of red wine.”

“Well, then, maybe you need a night out where sleeping is the only option?” Daichi suggested.

Sugawara raised an eyebrow, and Daichi felt his face go red.

“Ah! I didn’t – I didn’t mean – I just!” He stood up abruptly. “I should go check in with holding and see how much longer Ryuunosuke is being held! And then you’ll need to fill out some paperwork! And we’ll start on that job! So, I will get Bokuto and Kuroo!” Daichi noticed his partner, Iwaizumi, walk through the doors. “Ah! My partner, this is Detective Iwaizumi Hajime, he’ll help you get started on the paperwork! Hajime, this is Sugawara-san! Great! Okay!”

He walked away before Iwaizumi could give him a hard time or ask why he was blushing.

 

Daichi took a deep breath before knocking on the door of Kuroo’s and Bokuto’s shared office. He knew that coming to them for anything was out of the ordinary, so he emotionally prepared himself for the interrogation.

(He was honestly surprised if they didn’t _actually_ cuff him and throw him in interrogation for a few hours, just for kicks.)

“Oya?” came Kuroo’s voice, peaking around the door.

“Oya, oya?” Bokuto echoed.

“Shut up, the both of you,” Daichi grumbled, pushing into the office and slamming the door. “I have a job for you.”

“Oho? Pray, do tell!” Kuroo purred, sitting on his desk and propping his chin on his hands.

“You know the kid we’ve got in holding?”

“Sure, sure,” Bokuto affirmed, sitting up next to Kuroo. “What about him?”

“I need you to make use of him for like a month as an assistant or intern or something.”

“Why~?” Kuroo prompted, leaning forward. “You never ask us to do things like this.”

“His father thinks that it would do him good, and you two are the only detectives annoying enough for this to qualify as a punishment.”

“You wound us, Sa’amura!” Kuroo gasped.

“We’re a _delight_ , Dai-kun!” Bokuto added, pouting.

Daichi rolled his eyes. “Well, I’m not playing babysitter for this kid. It would be…” _Unprofessional? Weird? I want to kiss his father? So that’s probably against some sort of rule?_ “I’m just not doing it!”

“Is his dad…single?” Kuroo questioned, leaning over even further.

“I don’t see what that has to do with anyth–”

“Is he hot?” Bokuto asked, tilting his head.

“Are we keeping the kid busy so he can ride you all night?” Kuroo waggled his brows.

“No!” Daichi interrupted, marching over and smacking them both.

“Ohoho, looks like we struck a chord, Koutarou!”

“It seems we _have_ , Tetsu!”

“I swear to god,” Daichi grumbled, “breathe a word of that to anyone in the precinct, and I’ll report every annoying thing you’ve done on the government’s time in the last two years.”

“Bold of you to assume you actually _know_ every annoying thing we’ve done on government time,” Kuroo snickered.

“Shut up. I’m going to ask Officer Yamaguchi to let the kid out. You two, go to Tsukishima for the paperwork you need. Kuroo, I swear to god, if you hit on our poor tech one more time, I’ll skin you alive,” he added, narrowing his eyes. “Tsukishima doesn’t like _you_.”

“I know that, Dai-kun,” Kuroo cackled. “I do happen to know, however, who he does like. So, I’m kind of hitting on him for that someone. You know? Making things happen. Relieving office tension.”

“It’s borderline harassment,” Daichi corrected, “and you’ll stop meddling in Yamaguchi’s and Tsukishima’s business at once.”

“Tch, who said anything about Yama-chan?” Kuroo replied innocently. “But if you agree that he and Tsukki do have a thing–?”

“Go!” Daichi barked, pushing them out of the office.

He shook his head to clear out the office idiots before heading down to holding and walking up to Officer Yamaguchi’s desk.

“Hey, Yamaguchi-san,” he greeted with a smile.

“Oh, hi, Detective Sawamura!” Yamaguchi stood up. “Here for Sugawara Ryuunosuke?”

He nodded, then turned to the cell. “Hey, kid. Your dad’s here to pick you up.”

A teenager with a buzzcut and ripped jeans looked over at him before sighing and rolling his eyes. “Great. Somehow, I feel like that’s just going to be even worse than this.”

Daichi unlocked the cell and ushered Ryuunosuke out. “It’s a first offense, so your punishment won’t be too bad. However, there will be repercussions.”

Ryuunosuke snorted. “Yeah, aye, great, gotcha.”

“Your father damn near had an emotional breakdown when he came in,” he continued. “I understand that you’ve been giving him a hard time lately.”

“You telling me he talked to a stranger about this?”

“Yeah,” Daichi affirmed, “which tends to happen when people hold in stress for too long. You’ll be doing some involuntary volunteer work around the precinct with Detectives Bokuto and Kuroo, and they’re quite a handful, but I have a feeling it’s a fair punishment.”

“So, are they babysitting me, or vice versa?” Ryuunosuke groaned, clearly sarcastic.

Daichi couldn’t lie, though. “Let’s just say they’re helping out your dad, and in turn, you’re helping me out.”

Ryuunosuke paused and looked at him. “You’re serious?” When Daichi nodded, he gave a short laugh. “That’s not so bad, then.”

“But I don’t speak on behalf of Sugawara-san. If he wishes to punish you further, that’s up to him.”

The kid just snorted and kept moving.

Sugawara was filling out paperwork on a clipboard while Iwaizumi squatted down to talk to little Shouyou. Daichi strained his ears to hear what the suddenly energetic toddler was babbling about.

“An’, an’ Uncle Tooru was like, whoosh, an’, an’ the ball went fwoom, an’ Uncle ’Tani jumps and goes smack an’ the other team was all whoa an’ they couldn’t get it an’ they won!”

Iwaizumi was smiling soft and big, like Daichi had never seen before. It was actually adorable. He laughed, pushing the teenager along.

“Oh, really?” Iwaizumi asked, beaming at the little one. “Are you going to be a setter like your Uncle Tooru when you grow up, then?”

Shouyou shook his head, orange locks bouncing all over. “I wanna hit the ball! Like Uncle ’Tani!”

“Ooh, you’re gonna be a spiker?” Iwaizumi interpreted. “You know, when I played in high school, I was a wing spiker too.”

The toddler’s eyes widened. “Whoa!”

Iwaizumi laughed hardily. “I bet you could be the ace of the National team someday, Shou-kun.” He ruffled the kid’s hair.

“Really?!” he gasped. “Papa, do you think so?!”

Sugawara looked up from the papers and smiled. “Of course, sweetheart. Just like your big brother.” He turned to his older son. “Ryuunosuke.”

“Listen, Pops, I really don’t need to hear it, because I already know,” the teenager said, scratching the back of his head. “I know.”

“You’re grounded for the whole of summer holiday.”

“Okay.”

“That includes from Chika.”

Ryuunosuke’s eyes widened. “Wait, hang on, you never ground me from Chikara! What happened to him being a good influence on me?!”

“You know I love him like my own,” Sugawara said, “so I don’t think he should be around a delinquent.”

“That’s so unfair! It was once, and it’ll never happen again!”

“I already have your phone,” Sugawara continued, “which you will only have when I am at work and none of your uncles are available to watch you.”

“Can’t I at least tell Chikara what happened? That’s like a whole month that he’ll think I’m ignoring him!”

“You should have thought about that before you destroyed public property.”

“C’mon, he’ll dump me!”

“I’m sure he can get all the information he needs from your brother, no?”

“God, this is so unfair!”

“And I’m sure that Detective Sawamura has filled you in on your new duties in the precinct?”

Ryuunosuke frowned and looked away. “Yeah.”

“Good. Now, go take your little brother to the car. I’m sure Detective Iwaizumi can accompany you for safety?”

Iwaizumi nodded.

“Great, thank you, Hajime.”

Iwaizumi looked back to Shouyou. “Come on, little man, let’s get you to the car for your papa, alright?” He scooped him up and led Ryuunosuke out of the station.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that man go soft for anything,” Daichi mused, watching his partner leave the building.

“He’s a sweetheart,” Sugawara laughed.

“Hajime?” Daichi verified before chuckling and shaking his head. “Ah, how’s the paperwork going, Sugawara-san?”

“Suga,” Sugawara corrected. “Everyone calls me Suga. I would’ve probably mentioned that sooner, if I wasn’t lamenting over my impetuous sons.”

“Alright, then, Suga.”

“I think it’s just about done,” he said, handing over the clipboard as he stood. “Hey, out of curiosity, does Detective Iwaizumi still play volleyball? And have you ever played?”

“Yes, to both,” Daichi replied, unsure where this was headed.

“Mm, well, I know Iwaizumi said he was a wing spiker. What position are you best in?”

It was an innocent enough question, but the way Suga’s eyes twinkled with his little head tilt and smirk, Daichi felt embarrassed and dehydrated again.

“Uh – um – also – also a wing spiker.”

“Hm.” Suga tapped his lips with his forefinger in thought. “Well, with Ryuu grounded and Kentarou being this weekend’s doctor on call…we’re in need of two wing spikers for a little match. My friends and I do three-on-three every weekend, and since Ryuu and Yuu started playing in junior high, they’ve played on my team – Ryuu is a spiker, and Yuu is a libero.”

“O-oh,” Daichi said dumbly. Obviously he understood what was about to happen.

“Tooru’s regular libero, Mori, will still be there, as will Yuu, but we both need a spiker. Otherwise, what good are we?”

“A-and what position do you like – I mean play?”

Suga started to laugh but caught it with his hand. “I’m a setter. Although, I can spike in a pinch.”

Daichi wasn’t sure what the innuendo was – he didn’t even know if there was one – but he nodded.

“So, you guys will come?”

“Y-yes,” he affirmed. “I’ll have – have to ask Hajime, but he seems to like you well enough that it won’t take much convincing.”

“Convincing for what, Dai-kun?” Bokuto’s unmistakable voice sang from behind them.

“Oh, Detectives Sawamura and Iwaizumi are going to fill in for my friends’ and my volleyball three-on-three match this Saturday,” Suga replied.

Daichi tried to stop him, but it was too late. He’d unleashed the volleyball idiots.

“Oho?” Kuroo gasped.

“Ohoho?”

“Ohohoho?”

“Stop that!” Daichi snapped.

“Can we come?!” Bokuto begged, bouncing up and down. “My name is Bokuto Koutarou! I’m a wing spiker! I was the ace of my team in high school, and I played for Japan’s U19! I have a great cross, and ironically, straight!”

Suga beamed up at him. “You’re serious?! You’d come?”

“Kuroo Tetsurou, middle blocker! Never played for the U19 but I was pretty damn good, eh, Sa’amura?” Kuroo slapped his ass, which was unnecessary.

“We need another middle blocker and another spiker!” Suga gasped. “Do you have any more lying around?”

“Well, Tsukki is a middle blocker,” Bokuto remembered. “He’s really good too, from the last match we played against the fire department!”

“He’d kill you for volunteering him,” Daichi pointed out.

“And Yui is good for a spiker!” Bokuto continued, ignoring him. “Five-on-five instead of three-on-three? What do you say, Daddy-san?!”

Suga choked on air and Daichi screamed into his hands.

“His name is Sugawara,” Daichi mumbled. “I can’t believe you said that.”

“What?” Bokuto whined, pouting. “I didn’t know his name yet and all I figured out was that he was the hot dad whose son you assigned to us.”

“I – I never –” he stammered, turning to Suga. “I didn’t actually say that. Not – not that it’s not true, I just – I never – dammit, Bo!”

Suga was doing a terrible job hiding his laughter. “Oh, you guys. I needed this after the day I’ve had. Time to go drop off the kids with Keiji and go to the hospital, but it’s been interesting. Make sure you tell Iwaizumi to come to the game Saturday!” He turned to leave.

“Hospital?” Bokuto repeated. “How come? Are you ill?”

“No, no,” Suga said, turning around. “I’m a nurse. See you, boys. Daichi?”

“I’ll relay it on to Hajime,” he promised.

Suga’s face lit up. “Awesome! I bet Shou will be excited to hear that. Alright, see you Saturday at the community center!”

Suga left as quickly as he came in, but this time, it felt like he was taking a piece of Daichi with him.

“He’s hot,” Bokuto noted.

“A hot nurse,” Kuroo agreed.

“A hot, beautiful nurse,” Bokuto sighed.

“A hot, beautiful nurse who is also an amazing dad,” Kuroo continued.

“With three sons,” Daichi finished, looking over at them.

“You’ve always wanted kids, Detective,” Kuroo reminded him, clapping him on the back. “Sounds like you just met the man of your dreams!”

He rubbed his face and shook his head. “Tell Ukai I’m taking my lunch early. I need…to remember how to think again.”

“Sure thing, Dai,” Bokuto said, smiling kindly and squeezing his shoulder.

Daichi looked towards the door, completely unraveled. Had he really agreed to play volleyball with a bunch of strangers? On a Saturday? Designated movie night with Yui, Kiyoko, and Yahaba?

But when he thought of bright brown eyes and a sly smirk, words always laced with some sort of hidden meaning… Yeah, he was going to let Suga ruin his schedule any time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that I'm coming back into this fic with some angst mixed into crack. Um. I don't know.
> 
> Okay, so I was raised by a single parent, so a lot of this chapter was inspired by some things I know more directly, like the struggle of doing it all and keeping it together in front of your kids. So, 10 points for emotions. Anyways, take this, enjoy this, love the pretty setter squad, thank.

The car ride to Keiji’s was about as tense as Suga figured it would be.

Ryuu was leaning against the door, staring out the window, ignoring him. Shouyou, gleefully oblivious, babbled about “Detective Zumi”, a.k.a. his new best friend. And Suga found himself wishing for the millionth time that week that he could skip his shift at the hospital.

Well, no. That’s not exactly it.

He wanted to call in family emergencies – which would be valid and true, and Doctor Yaku never gave him a hard time about that. But then, he wanted to go home – his home, not this dinky two-bedroom that barely fits his large family – open the door, and find him sitting on the couch, holding two glasses of wine.

Suga missed Riku so much that it physically ached some days. This was definitely one of those days. Riku was intuitive and patient, and somehow, he always knew when Suga needed a little extra love and care. He was the one who was good at keeping the kids in line, and Suga was more the father for advice. Now, juggling both roles…he just couldn’t. He wasn’t two dads at once. He was just the one, and he felt like he was failing in his usual areas as well lately.

But he was not going to cry in front of his kids. Someone had to be strong in this situation, after all. Besides, if he broke down now, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to put himself back together.

 

“Keiji, you’re an angel, thank you so much.” Suga hugged Keiji tightly once all the boys were in the house.

“Of course, Koushi. I am always here when you need me,” he promised, pulling back to look Suga in the eyes. “Hard day?”

Suga nodded, a tear slipping. That’s the only one that slips until tonight. “God, I just bailed my son out of jail. You can imagine how shit my day has been.”

Keiji cupped Suga’s cheek and brushed the tear with his thumb. “All of us are here for you, Koushi.”

“But Riku isn’t,” he said, barely a whisper.

Keiji pursed his lips and stepped back. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were actually mad at your husband for dying.”

“That…that’s a discussion we can have later,” Suga said with an empty laugh. “Oh, I am going to need to vent so hard once the kids are all asleep, so warn Tooru. Shit, warn Kenma too.”

Keiji nodded and smiled. “I’ll make sure they’re all free tonight. Kenma can pick up some wine, eh? We’ll all sleep here.”

“You’re an angel, Keiji,” Suga said again, giving his friend a quick kiss. “Absolute angel, I love you.”

“I love you too, Koushi. Have a good day at work.”

“I’ll try.”

 

Once the stress started to melt down some, Suga remembered Detective Sawamura. He was so stressed that he’d barely taken the time to admire such a fine-looking man. Ugh, and he was so nice and understanding, letting Suga vent at him immediately upon their meeting. And agreeing to play volleyball…

Oh, shit, he totally invited random cop strangers to the volleyball game because he was trying to hit up Iwaizumi (another fine man) and Daichi. Ah, fuck.

The guys were totally going to kill him. Unless they found a cop they liked. Then maybe…less killing?

Who was he kidding? His three beautiful sons were going to be orphans as soon as the news broke.

He took a couple more deep breaths and stepped into the hospital, ready to start his shift.

“Hey, Suga-san,” Kyoutani called almost immediately. “I got your message to Yaku-sensei. Aone-sensei has some patient files for you to go through.”

“Thank you, Kyoutani-kun,” Suga replied, patting his head.

Just a few long hours, and he could talk to his friends. _Just survive the next few hours, Koushi…_

 

When Suga got to Keiji’s, all the boys were still awake. The older two didn’t surprise him, but Shouyou just made him sigh.

“Shou, baby, what are you doing still awake?” Suga asked, scooping him up off the couch.

“I couldn’ sleep ‘til Papa got home,” the toddler mumbled, hugging Suga’s neck. “I don’ like when you work late.”

“I don’t like it either, baby,” Suga whispered, his heart breaking. “You should listen to Uncle Keiji when he puts you in bed, though.”

Shouyou said something that wasn’t quite coherent before falling asleep with his head lolling back. Suga shook his head and chuckled, bringing him up the stairs to Keiji’s guest room (well, “guest room” really meant “kids’ room” these days).

“Hey, Pops,” Yuu said, not looking up from his phone. He was sitting cross-legged on one of the futons. “How was work?”

“Busy night,” Suga replied. He walked over and ruffled his hair. “Sorry that this is the first time I’ve seen you all day.”

“I’m not mad,” Yuu promised, looking up. “I’m a little pissed at Ryuu, but I’ll get over it.”

“You and me both, kiddo.”

“I’m not going to lie, Papa; I always thought I’d be the one to get arrested first,” Yuu sighed dramatically. “I’m a little disappointed.”

“ _You’re_ disappointed?” Suga gasped. “My own son got arrested before me! And honestly, if I had to put money on either of you, it was you, of course.”

Yuu laughed. “When I forgive him, I’ll text Chika for him.”

Suga smiled. “I know. It’s late. You should get to sleep, eh?”

“It’s summer holiday–”

“Yuu,” Suga said sternly. “Sleep. I need to talk to your Uncles about some stuff, and I can’t do that if I know that my sons are awake.”

Yuu pulled a face. “Ugh, you’re going to talk about some hot cop you met today, right? And I’m going to be forever traumatized, ’cause my father’s got a type, and Asa-chan is going to have to elope with me because I’ll never be able to look you in the eyes again.”

Suga laughed, the first real laugh all day. “You’re so dramatic. Where did you learn that from?”

“Gee, Pops, I dunno.” Yuu rolled his eyes and grinned.

“Tch, certainly not from me!”

Yuu laughed. “Oh, please! Oh, if you’re looking for Ryuu, he’s talking to Uncle Keiji in his room.”

Suga nodded. “Alright. Thank you.” He kissed him on the head. “Don’t stay up too late, you hear?”

“I won’t. Promise.”

“Goodnight, I love you.”

“Love you too, Pops.”

Suga made his way across the hall to Keiji’s room and knocked before pushing the door open. Ryuu was laying on Keiji’s bed, talking about something or other, while Keiji sat in his desk chair.

“Oh, hello, Koushi,” Keiji greeted, giving a small wave.

“Hey, Keiji. Ryuunosuke.”

Ryuu looked up and sighed. “Hey, Pops.”

“You ready for bed?”

He shrugged. “Yeah.”

“Ryuu. I love you.”

“I know,” he mumbled. “I love you too.”

Keiji stood up. “Kenma just got here. I’ll go see them, give you two a moment.”

“Thank you,” Suga replied before joining Ryuu on the bed. “Can I ask you something, kiddo?”

“I dunno, can you?” Ryuu snarked, rolling his eyes.

“Oi.” Suga pinched his nose. “Where did you learn sass like that?”

“Must be genetic,” he snorted. “What is it?”

“Why?” Suga huffed a laugh and flopped onto his back. “Why did you go from not making your bed or turning in homework late to…vandalism? Graffiti? I mean, why?”

“I wasn’t…” Ryuu sat up and shrugged. “Papa, I wasn’t doing it to rebel. Not against you or anything. It was…”

“It was…?” Suga prompted.

“Art? That probably sounds stupid, right? But did you even get to see it?”

Suga shook his head. “Did you get a picture?” He nodded, so Suga grabbed his phone out of Keiji’s desk drawer. “Show me.”

“I was, uh, looking up the meaning behind Dad’s name – given and family, ya know? – and…it’s basically ‘land’ and ‘west valley’ or something like that, so…” Ryuu handed over the phone. “It was just some abandoned building. I didn’t think anyone would care, but…”

“It faces the main road, Ryuunosuke,” Suga sighed. It was beautiful, really, which made it hard to be mad. It was a sunset over a valley, bright with colors.

“I know I don’t have to tell you it’s been exactly two years. I just wanted to do something for him.”

Suga pressed his lips together. He wanted to be angry, or disappointed, or to tell Ryuu that he couldn’t just deface public property because it was illegal. He really wanted to, but he just understood.

“The irony,” he began softly, “is that while I totally understand, your dad so would’ve grounded your ass for longer than a month.”

Ryuu laughed a little at that. “He really would have. Wouldn’t let Yuu tell Chika what’s goin’ on either.”

“I guess that’s why you were better behaved for him, then, eh? Brat,” he added teasingly, rubbing his knuckles over Ryuu’s head. “Kiddo, I need you to set a better example for Shou. Why don’t you try and put this on a proper canvas, huh? It’s…it’s amazing. It really is.”

“Thanks.” Ryuu stared at his hands. “I’m sorry that this had to stress you out, today of all days.”

“Well, you can learn from your actions while putting up with the police station’s class clowns, huh?” Suga laughed. “Now, go to bed. I need to talk to your Uncles.”

 

Downstairs, Kenma and Keiji were pouring glasses of red wine. Suga smiled to himself and walked over to the two of them.

“Tooru here yet?” he asked, placing an arm around both their waists.

Kenma shook their head. “No, he’s taking his sweet time.”

“Figures,” Suga snorted. He leaned over and nuzzled their hair. “Thanks for bringing the wine, Ken.”

“What’s a QPP for,” they replied, bumping him with their head.

“Here,” Keiji said, handing Suga a glass. “Tooru says he’ll be here soon.”

“Mm, okay, thanks.” He followed the others into the living room and sank onto the couch. “I thought today would never end.”

“All bad days end eventually,” Kenma said, taking his hand and pressing a quick kiss to the knuckles. “Want to talk about it?”

“Don’t drink,” Keiji said, taking both their wine glasses. “Tooru’s going to want to make some long toast to Nishinoya-san, and he’ll kill us if we drink without him.”

“He didn’t even get along with Riku,” Kenma pouted, allowing their glass to be taken.

“I know,” Keiji sighed. “Koushi, do you want to talk about your day?” Suga shrugged, so Keiji snuggled in closer and snaked an arm around his waist.

“Well, let’s see. I woke up this morning to take Shou to the park, like every Wednesday. We were having a blast, and a bunch of moms flirted with me, until they found out I was gay,” Suga slipped in, tossing his hair a bit.

“It’s because you’re a hot dad,” Kenma commented.

“Thanks, I know,” he laughed. “Anyways, everything was going fine, when suddenly I get a phone call from an Officer Yamaguchi Tadashi because apparently, my Ryuu-chan was found vandalizing an abandoned building off Main Street.”

“Did he like, break some windows or something?” Kenma asked.

“No. He actually…it was graffiti, I guess, but – no. It was street art. It was art,” he sighed, sinking into his friends’ arms. “It was Riku’s full name as art: a valley at sunset.”

Keiji sighed. “It was for the anniversary of his death?”

“Yeah. Well, anyways, I get to the station…” He recounted the details of Daichi and Iwaizumi to them, a little embarrassed to admit he found not one, but two, super-hot detectives. He also informed them of the four (or six) who would be joining them for volleyball on Saturday. Keiji and Kenma listened intently until it was over.

“At least you got to see some good detective ass today?” Keiji offered.

“Keiji,” Suga whined. “Too many. Iwaizumi and Shou hit it off really well, but Daichi listened to me while I was losing my mind.”

“Koushi, you always do this, and then you never make the move,” Kenma noted. “You’re not asking either of them out, are you?”

Suga shook his head violently. “C’mon, I’m just a hot mess dad with three troublesome sons. No way in hell. I mean, I flirted with Daichi a little…”

“Did he flirt back?” Keiji pressed.

“I think so? He tried to ask me what position I play, but instead asked what position I like.” Suga smirked. “Definitely was thinking something else there.”

“So, why not at least get to know him?” Kenma suggested.

“Tch, in what time?” Suga sighed. “There’s no time for that sort of thing anymore.”

“Or, you’ve given up on love because you don’t think you can fall in love after Nishinoya-san,” Keiji argued. “Just remember the deal you have with Tooru.”

Suga gagged. “Right. I’m not marrying him when we’re forty.”

“You will if you can’t land a hot detective,” Kenma threatened.

“What about you two? In a rush to cement your love or something?” Suga accused.

“Keiji is hot, I’m not complaining,” Kenma said with a shrug.

“Kenma would be a low-maintenance lover. I’m content with my decision,” Keiji agreed. “You chose the hard one.”

Suga gagged again. “Don’t I fucking know it.” The door swung open. “Speak of our little devil. Tooru!”

“Kou-chan! Kei-chan! Ken-chan!” Tooru shut the door carefully before running to the couch and jumping onto Suga’s lap. “I see you waited to start the party until I arrived, how thoughtful!”

Suga rolled his eyes before offering a quick kiss to his best friend. “Hello, lovely. Ooh, what do we have here?”

He tried to grab for the paper in Tooru’s hand, but it was snatched away.

“Tsk, tsk, Kou-chan. It’s a gift from Rikkun,” Tooru explained. “He gave it to me, because I’m the only one here who knows how to lie and keep secrets.”

“You don’t just know how; you excel at it,” Keiji teased, ruffling Tooru’s perfect hair.

“Kei-chan!” Tooru whined, fixing it. “Come on. I spent thirty minutes on that.”

“Did you recently dye out the greys?” Kenma asked, scrolling through their phone.

Tooru gasped, scandalized. “I’m not going grey! Ken-chan! So mean! I don’t know what I did to deserve this lifetime of abuse!”

“You slept with my boyfriend,” Suga mused.

Tooru rolled his eyes. “In college, and it wasn’t even good. And we both apologized!”

“Yeah, and I forgave you!” Suga assured him. “But karma’s a bitch.” He nuzzled his friend’s hair. “And I’m just teasing. I was more jealous of him than you anyways.”

“Coulda had a threesome, Kou-chan, you were married to the guy for ten years,” Tooru whined. “Ah, but another time. When we’re married, in three years. Unless you have someone to tell me about?”

“He met a cop with thighs from the gods,” Kenma stated.

“I’m not asking him out; drop it, Kozume.”

“Can I read the letter from your late husband?” Tooru sighed, fanning himself. “It applies to this conversation, Kou-chan~.”

Suga frowned. “Letter? No, Tooru, I can’t. I can’t do that right now. No.”

“Today was the first time you said his name since the funeral, Koushi. You need to start…facing it. Facing him,” Keiji sighed, squeezing Suga’s hand.

“I don’t think I can.”

“It’s not too emotional,” Tooru promised. “It’ll help. I know it will!”

“No.”

Tooru sighed. “He was afraid you might say that. Kei-chan?”

Keiji snatched the paper out of his hands and unfolded it. After a quick scan, he snorted. “Koushi, please. This will make you feel better.”

Suga sank further into the couch, but he waved his hand for Keiji to continue.

“Dear Koushi: so, it’s been two years, I see? Wait, I’m basically clairvoyant, I bet I know what you’re doing right now. You’re all sitting on Keiji’s couch, drinking red wine – no, specifically your red wine, a pinot noir in your oversized mom glasses–” Keiji paused to laugh again, and even Suga felt a grin creeping up. “And I know for a fact Tooru is talking shit about me. Tell him to shut his dirty fucking mouth and remind him that it’s rude to talk about dead people that way.”

“I fucking hate him,” Suga laughed through a couple tears.

Keiji cleared his throat. “Suga, I know we’ve already talked about this, but I wanted to come back and tell you that I’m still holding you to it. I know you thrive on romance, and I want you to be happy. Please, let yourself stop mourning. Or, okay, I guess we were together since high school. So, you can mourn me, but only for five minutes every day, got it? Then, you have to go on and be happy and keep Tooru in his place because I’m not there to fight him anymore.”

“I would literally rather he was haunting me,” Tooru pouted.

“Shh, dead man speaking,” Kenma chided.

“Yeah, Tooru, respect the dead,” Keiji agreed before continuing. “Of course, if you want to marry Tooru, that’s your choice, but I’m guessing you don’t, so you really should follow Tooru’s advice for part two, okay? And hey. Koushi. I love you, and I know you love me too. I’ll see you on the other side. With your new husband, of course, who I’m sure will fill me in on everything I missed because you’ll be too busy crying. Crybaby.”

“This is just mean,” Suga sighed, still caught somewhere between laughter and tears.

“All my love, Riku.” Keiji forced the note into Suga’s hand. “Keep this, Koushi.”

“What’s part two?” Kenma asked, lowering their phone again.

“Give me your phone, Suga,” Tooru requested, holding out his hand. Suga did as he asked; he learned in junior high that it was better to just not ask questions. “I’m downloading Tinder.”

“You’re doing what?” Suga gasped. “No, definitely not!”

“Okay, it’s either that, or we start registering for our wedding in three years. Your pick!”

“Dammit.” Suga pulled at his hair but relented. “Go on, then. Download the fucking dating app.”

“Yay! Okay, Kei-chan, Ken-chan, help me set up Kou-chan’s profile!”

“Shouldn’t I do that?” Suga argued, frowning at him.”

“Maybe!” Tooru agreed. “However, you’ll just back out, so let your daddies take care of it.”

“Ew?” Kenma wrinkled their nose. “Please, never call us that again, Tooru.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is, but alright,” Tooru said with a shrug.

Suga sat by, waiting for his friends to finish whatever hell scheme his late husband had put them up to. It didn’t surprise him that Riku had left something like this to Tooru – they weren’t ever best friends, but they had some sort of a connection that never played out in Suga’s favor. This was just a prime example of that.

“Fuck you too, babe,” he muttered under his breath.

“Ooh~!” Tooru threw Suga’s phone into his hands. “Swipe right on him! He’s yummy, and he’s another single parent!”

That sparked Suga’s interest, so he looked at the phone. His mouth went dry immediately at the shirtless picture that greeted him. Worse yet, he recognized him.

“Oh my god, no.” He covered his mouth to hide the blush and smile. “No wonder he was so good with Shouyou.”

“Hmm?” Keiji leaned over before giving a short whistle. “He’s hot. Swipe right.”

“But I know him,” Suga whimpered. “That’s Detective Iwaizumi.”

“Swipe right…for friendship?” Kenma offered.

“I can’t swipe right at all! Because I think his partner’s cute too, and isn’t that a weird position to put them in?” Suga insisted.

“Maybe his partner’s on here too,” Tooru suggested, “and then you can put them in a fun position, altogether!”

“I’m pushing forty, too old for a threesome.”

“Nonsense, you’re never too old for a threesome,” Tooru scoffed. “Keiji, help me sex up Koushi so he’ll take my amazing advice.”

“No thanks,” Keiji replied, still staring at the picture of Detective Iwaizumi. “Do you think he’d strangle me with those arms if I asked?”

“You are so weird,” Suga laughed, “you and muscles.”

“There’s nothing wrong with liking muscles.”

“I’m partial to thighs,” Suga admitted.

“Me too,” Kenma agreed, not even glancing at Suga’s screen. “Lean muscle, but built thighs.”

“Really?” Tooru asked, surprised. “Coming from our mostly asexual kitten?”

Kenma looked him dead in the eyes. “Strong legs mean a man who can carry me around and I’ll never have to do anything again.”

Tooru blinked, then shook his head. “I don’t know why I expected literally anything else from you.”

“Swipe right,” Keiji demanded before doing it for Suga.

“Holy shit,” Suga gasped. “Shit, shit, what did you just do, Keiji.”

“I did it for Nishinoya-san,” he decided, head held high. “He never wanted you to spend the rest of your life alone. He knew that it was time, and we know it too.”

Suga panicked, staring at his phone. This was not the way he was hoping the evening would go. He almost screamed when it pinged.

 

**[DI_Iwa]:** Hey, Suga, wasn’t it?

 

Suga started to punch Tooru and Keiji. “Fuck you guys, fuck you guys, fuck you guys.”

“Answer him!” Tooru insisted.

 

**[Suga_baby]:** yeah, um, hey, srry abt this, my friends took my phone and are responsible for all of this

**[Suga_baby]:** ew especially my username im so sorry detective

**[DI_Iwa]:** Don’t worry about it. I only have this thing set up because Detectives Kuroo and Bokuto like to get up in my business.😒 I mostly swiped right to ask what time on Saturday, TBH

**[Suga_baby]:** oh right I totally forgot to give you guys a time!!! Silly me! 4:30p.m.😁

**[DI_Iwa]:** Great, we’ll be there. See you then, Suga.

**[DI_Iwa]:** Should I tell Daichi you say hi? 😉

**[Suga_baby]:** ew am I that obvious

**[DI_Iwa]:** To be fair, I AM a detective.

**[Suga_baby]:** well damn guess I can’t hide anything from you

 

Suga looked at his friends again. “I can’t believe you’re making me do this.”

“It’s because we love you,” Tooru promised. Suga didn’t believe him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops did I hint at some drama just now I'm sorry my bad (did you really think the get-together was going to be easy?)
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://www.twitter.com/awkwardfangirl6) and scream with me about Haikyuu!! and other shit


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I give you the Real Tea™ right now? I love DaiSuga, but I also love OiSuga, IwaSuga, IwaDai, and obviously IwaOi (I'm undecided about OiDai but it's probably cute). Look, I don't want Tobio and Shouyou to be brothers because I'm a hoe for KageHina but this is an AU and technically it doesn't matter so, depending on how this Massively Unplanned fic goes, it could easily end up being IwaOiDaiSuga so uh stand by while I make decisions that I still have 0 clue about yeet
> 
> also the formatting got hecked when I pasted the chapter into the Rich Text so I tried to fix it but if anything's wonky im sorry

Tobio sat across from Daichi, angrily drinking a milk box. This was the first time since Daichi and Hajime became partners that Daichi was allowed to meet the kid. For the longest time, Daichi wondered why. Now, he understood.

The kid was like, four, but completely terrifying. He was constantly glaring, which would’ve been surprising if his father was anyone but Iwaizumi Hajime (who was also…constantly glaring). It must’ve been genetic.

_Where is Haji…?_ Daichi wondered to himself, turning around to look for him.

“Sorry, sorry!” Iwaizumi came back into the room and ruffled Tobio’s hair. “Sorry. Got a notification from that stupid app Bokuto and Kuroo installed.

“Anything interesting?” Daichi asked.

“One moment.” Hajime turned to Tobio. “Hey, kiddo. You ready for bed?”

“I guess,” Tobio squeaked out, setting down his milk.

That is the most long-suffering sigh I’ve ever heard produced by a toddler. _This is why Tsukishima shouldn’t be allowed to babysit._

“Say goodnight to Uncle Daichi, Tobio.”

Tobio gave Daichi a mistrusting glance before muttering, “G’night,” and tugging Hajime towards the stairs.

Daichi headed into the kitchen and pulled a couple bottles of beer out of the fridge. He wasn’t terrible with kids, but very few seemed to like him. He felt badly enough that Shouyou was too shy to talk to him until Hajime showed up. This was basically the second kid to reject him that day.

“He liked you,” Iwaizumi said bluntly, taking one of the bottles out of Daichi’s hands. “He’s just shy.”

“He inherited your scowl,” Daichi chuckled. “Kind of scared the hell out of me, I can’t lie.”

“Daichi…he’s four.” Iwaizumi snorted. He pulled out his phone and tossed it at Daichi. “Read it.”

Daichi unlocked it and looked at the conversation that was open on Tinder. It was…with Sugawara.

He read it, eyes scanning quickly before looking up at Hajime. “Why are you showing me this?”

“Say something, dumbass,” Hajime said gruffly. “He likes you, obviously.”

“But if he did the swipe thing, doesn’t he like you?”

“No, look at the first message,” Hajime countered.

 

**[Suga_baby]:** Hello, Iwaizumi-san; I’m not sure if you remember, but we actually met earlier today?

 

“He didn’t write it,” Iwaizumi continued, “so he probably didn’t even swipe. See, the format is way more formal than his other messages, and it’s a completely different tone. It was probably one of his friends who set up the account for him.”

“Wow, Haji-chan, you really are a detective.”

“Shut up, Sawamura,” Iwaizumi grunted. “Say something to him, or I’m asking him out on a date, because he’s adorable. Up to you.”

“You like him?” Daichi asked, curious.

“Sure, who wouldn’t,” Iwaizumi pointed out. “Why do you think I swiped. However, I really did just want to know what time, and if he liked you. He does. So?”

Daichi stared at the phone, then glanced up at his partner. “I don’t think it’s right to do that?”

“Oh, my god.” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. “You are a useless gay.”

 

“Morning, Officer Yamaguchi,” Daichi called as he walked into the precinct. “Officer – wait, no – _Detective_ Yachi! Congratulations on your promotion, Yacchan!”

She beamed up at him. “Ah, thank you so much, Detective Sawamura! I’ll be working under Kuroo-san, and by extension Bokuto-san. Um, pray for me.”

“Wow, they’re adopting two kids? When are we having children of our own, Haji?” Daichi asked Iwaizumi, grinning over at his partner.

“No, I literally just introduced you to my toddler, and he’s a handful. I don’t want any more responsibilities.” Iwaizumi handed him a cup of coffee. “Congratulations on your promotion, Yachi-chan, and don’t let the chuckle fucks scare you away. As well as that Sugawara kid. He sounds like trouble.”

“You barely met him yesterday,” Daichi reminded him.

“Yeah, but Koushi had quite a few stories to tell last night and this morning.” Iwaizumi snorted and set his phone on his desk.

“Oh, you guys…kept talking?” Daichi tried to sound uninterested.

“Yeah, he’s really great – which you already know.” Iwaizumi quirked a brow at him. “Problem, Dai?”

“No. No problem! We have all the details for Saturday? Anything we should bring?”

“Workout clothes, kneepads, water, snacks…and a better fake smile than that, probably.”

Before Daichi could retort, the doors were opening once more. Ryuunosuke was being ushered in by a man in scrubs with a scowl and dyed blond buzzcut.

_Must be one of Suga’s coworkers._

“Hello,” Daichi greeted, meeting them in the front.

“Hi,” the man replied. “Kyoutani Kentarou, dropping him off on behalf of Sugawara-san.”

Ryuunosuke grinned and pat the man on the back. “Thanks, Uncle Ken. So, if you’ll just lead me to my duties, Sawamura-san, I will do my best not to disapp–” He trailed off when he caught sight of a woman walking over from the other side of the room.

“Daichi, there’s a body.”

“Body?” Daichi repeated. That didn’t happen often. “Be right there. Thanks, Kiyoko.”

“I’m Ryuu!” Ryuunosuke blurted out, bowing at a perfect ninety degrees in front of Kiyoko. “I’m only fifteen, but in three years, I would be honored to take you on a date! I’ve never seen a lady cop before! You are very beautiful!”

Kiyoko frowned down at him through her glasses. “I’m not a cop; I’m the forensic pathologist. And I’m old enough to be your mother. Daichi?”

“Sorry, Kiyoko,” Daichi sighed. “I’ll be there as soon as I get him to Bo and Kuroo. Grab Haji and Hitoka, and I’ll be right down.”

“Of course, Daichi.” She turned and made her way for Iwaizumi’s desk.

“Do ya think it’s a murder?!” Ryuu gasped. “I mean, not that that would be good, but it’s kinda cool ’cause you get to do that an’–”

Daichi held up a hand to silence him. “Thank you, Kyoutani-san, for bringing him. Please send Suga my best. Ryuunosuke-kun, this way. And no, it could be anything. Police are required to investigate any death under suspicious circumstances.”

“Whoa,” Ryuu breathed. “So, like, this guy could’ve accidentally eaten really bad meat, but because no one knows why he croaked, you gotta see what’s up?”

“Yes. Although, the majority of that is Kiyoko’s job. She only calls us in if she wants to analyze more details from the scene.”

“Whoa,” he repeated. “That’s really cool. She like, cuts open dead guys, then?”

“Yes. She ‘like, cuts open dead guys’,” Daichi laughed. “She’s the best at her job, and she’s way too old for you, and don’t you have a boyfriend?”

Ryuu’s eyes widened and he covered his mouth with both hands. “I need to call Chika and beg for his forgiveness! Detective Sawamura-san! Please, you have to let me!”

“Take it up with your babysitters,” Daichi laughed, ushering him into Bokuto’s and Kuroo’s office.

“I thought I was the babysitter,” Ryuu retorted, walking in.

Yachi was sitting cross-legged on Bokuto’s desk and looked up from a case-file. “No, I’m the babysitter. Worst promotion,” she joked, sticking her tongue out at Kuroo.

“You love me,” Kuroo chirped. “She loves me. We’re going to have a spring wedding.”

“I’m a lesbian, Tetsurou.”

“It’s okay, bro, I’ll still marry you,” Bokuto promised.

Kuroo sniffled and brushed away a fake tear. “Bro.”

Ryuu looked back at Daichi. “Um, and they’re also Detectives?”

“Yes. Have fun. I have a dead body to investigate.”

“Aww, you always get the fun jobs,” Bokuto whined. “Why don’t we ever get to investigate suspicious deaths?”

Daichi decided against answering that and turned to head downstairs to the morgue.

He knocked on the open door before heading in. “Hey, Kiyoko, Hajime. What do you have for us?” His eyes widened when he saw the captain there as well. “Ukai?”

Ukai smiled and waved. “Detective Sawamura, glad you could join us. Shimizu-sensei?”

“Right.” Kiyoko stepped forward. “John Doe, mid- to late-twenties, found dead in an alleyway of a drug overdose. I assumed it was suicide, but upon further evaluation of the body, there were no telltale signs that the drugs were self-administered. While not certain, there is a chance that he was poisoned and left to die.”

She stepped to the other side of the body and picked up his arm. “Also, it appears his hands may have been tied together with some sort of rope. I’ve pulled fiber samples, and I’m running the test results now. Dirt has been collected from his clothing and is running through the Mass Spec to see if the alleyway was in fact the initial crime scene.”

“So, I guess we have an alley to investigate?” Daichi asked.

Ukai nodded. “This kind of thing doesn’t happen often around here, and I don’t want any crime rings thinking that they can change that any time soon. I want this wrapped up ASAP, understand, Detectives?”

“Yes, Captain,” Daichi and Iwaizumi both replied.

“Thanks, Kiyoko,” Iwaizumi said before leading the way out of the morgue. “Let’s go. I’ll drive–”

“No,” Daichi interrupted, taking the keys from his partner’s hands. “Sorry, Haji, but I’m not getting into any vehicle that you’re driving. Not after last time. We’ve been over this.”

“That was one time, six months ago, Dai; I think you’re overreacting.”

“I still have nightmares. I’m driving, Hajime.”

 

CSI beat them there, snapping pictures and collecting samples by the time they arrived. Officers Yamaguchi and Haiba were waiting patiently by the tape.

“Oi, Lev, Tadashi,” Iwaizumi called, “what are you waiting for, an invitation? Get searching. We need to see if we can find any rope that could have been used as bondage, and if we could find something that might identify our John Doe, that’d be great. Kei is running facial rec as we speak, but if we could speed up the process?”

“On it, Iwaizumi-san,” Yamaguchi said, ducking under the tape to start the search.

“Sorry, senpai!” Lev said, bowing sharply.

“Check the dumpster, Lev. Chances are that they would try to dispose of anything related to the crime, alright?”

“Yessir!”

“Mean, Iwaizumi,” Daichi muttered, pulling on his gloves.

Iwaizumi just shrugged. “One day, he could be a great detective. Until then, he needs to get his hands dirty and learn how to listen to orders.”

“You treat him like one of our police dogs.”

“I do not.”

“I’m going to recommend you as his mentor when he gets promoted,” Daichi promised.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me, Haji.” He turned to where one of the CSI personnel was collecting soil samples. “Shirabu, what’ve we got?”

“No blood, no signs of a struggle, no drugs, and no signs of anything but a body dump. Tire tracks over there might belong to the perps’ car,” Shirabu replied, standing to his feet.

“If you ask me,” Kawanishi added, “we’re not going to find much here. We need to find out where the original crime scene was.”

“Shimizu’s working on it,” Iwaizumi assured them. “Thanks for your help, regardless.”

Both men bowed before returning to their jobs.

“You don’t think this started in another city, do you?” Daichi asked, frowning at the surroundings. “Estimated time of death was…did Kiyoko say?”

“Before you got there,” Iwaizumi said. “She said that it was between midnight and one in the morning.”

“Hmm. When was the body found?”

“Six this morning when the shop owner was taking out the trash.”

Daichi nodded, taking that in. That was a whole five hours unaccounted for. “Have we talked to the shop owner?”

“Lead the way.”

Daichi headed inside the shop doors, waving to the person behind the counter. “Hi, may I speak to the owner, if they’re still here?”

“I am the owner,” they said, standing to shake his hand. “You’re here about the body?”

“Yes, I’m Detective Sawamura Daichi, and this is my partner, Detective Iwaizumi Hajime. Can we ask you a few questions about this morning?”

They nodded, gesturing for the detectives to follow them into a back room. “Yes, please sit. What can I do to help, gentlemen?”

“Well, we know that you discovered the body around six this morning, correct?” Daichi verified.

“Yes,” they confirmed.

“Okay. What time did you get in?”

“Five thirty, like every day.”

“Did you see or hear anything strange? Any large vehicles driving to or from the ally?”

They shook their head. “Nope. I was the only one around that early. First car I saw was the first responders.”

That trims us down another half hour, at least.

“Okay, thank you so much,” Daichi sighed.

“Is there nothing else I can do?”

“I’m afraid not,” Iwaizumi told them. “But if you could keep your eyes open for any strange ropes or maybe a lost wallet, that would help us out a lot? Otherwise, thank you so much for all your help.”

They bowed. “Of course.”

Once back outside, Daichi turned to Iwaizumi. “We need to have Kei set up some sort of search perimeter if we can’t pinpoint with the soil samples.”

“What we need is an ID on our John Doe,” Iwaizumi argued. “Let’s head back, see what everyone’s found so far.”

 

It had been a while since the station was so alive. Everyone bustled around, lending their expertise to the case at hand. Violent crimes were a rarity in their small town, and Daichi wasn’t sure what to make of this sudden shift in routine. Something definitely seemed off about it.

“Haji?”

Iwaizumi shook his head and gestured to the pictures on the board. “Nope. Grab Yacchan.”

“Right.” Daichi walked over to Bokuto’s and Kuroo’s office. “Yacchan? Can I borrow you?”

“Sure, Daichi-san!” She hopped off Bokuto’s desk. “Be good. Ryuu, watch them?”

“Yes, Yachi-sama!” Ryuu bowed sharply, and Daichi rolled his eyes. “Oh! Daichi-san! Question: will my job let me look into any of the interesting stuff?”

“No,” Daichi replied. “You get to do paperwork and filing, isn’t that right?”

Kuroo and Bokuto nodded.

“It’s super important!” Bokuto assured him.

“The work you do in this room is just as important as the work out there. I bet you could find a clue if it comes up!”

Ryuu groaned and slumped into a chair. “Right. Great. I just remembered this was a punishment.”

“You’ll live,” Daichi promised. “Yachi?”

“Right here.”

“I’m checking to see what Kei’s come up with. Mind being my partner for the day?”

“Of course, Daichi-san,” Yachi replied with a smile.

“How’s your first day as a detective?” he asked, leading the way through the station towards Tsukishima’s desk.

“Good!” she replied, a pep in her step. “Although, I wasn’t expecting to find out about a murder so soon into the job! How awful!”

“I look forward to working with you on the case,” he told her, patting her shoulder. He looked up to where Tsukishima was typing away, Yamaguchi standing behind his chair. “Kei!”

“What?” Tsukishima said without looking up.

“Got a search perimeter for me?”

“Tch. You know I do,” Tsukishima huffed, waving his hand back at the big screen. “Still running facial rec on the John Doe, nothing’s popped up yet. Yamaguchi.”

Yamaguchi smiled and stepped towards the map. “So, we cross-referenced the search perimeter with the results from Shimizu-sensei’s findings on the soil samples, and we’ve narrowed down the primary crime scene possibilities to here…” He tapped the screen and it highlighted part of the map. “Here…and here! Pick a place, and we’ll send teams to the other two locations as well!”

“Thank you, Yamaguchi,” Daichi said, ruffling his hair. “You should go back to doing your job, now, officer, not your friend’s.”

“S-sorry!” Yamaguchi stammered. “Tsukki just needed an extra set of hands and I felt like I was just getting in everyone’s way and–”

“Why don’t you and Lev go check out one of the other locations, alright? I’ll tell Watari and Koganegawa to take the last one.”

“Right!”

“Come on, Yacchan, let’s see what we can find.”

 

Their location was a field in the next town over. Daichi pulled on his gloves and started looking around the ground for any traces of blood, tire tracks, etc. There wasn’t much to look at, though.

“Daichi-san, I don’t think this is it,” Yachi said, defeated.

“I think you’re right,” Daichi agreed as his phone rang. Watari. “Hello?”

“Detective Sawamura! Koganegawa and I have something,” Watari said. “I think this is it, and… gosh, I’ve never seen anything like this. I think we can definitely declare this a homicide.”

“Yachi and I will be there in a few, Watari. Don’t go anywhere.” He hung up and pocketed the phone. “Let’s go, Detective.”

 

Watari’s field was sectioned off in police tape by the time they arrived. Watari himself was crouched down, putting something in an evidence bag.

“What do you have, Watari?” Daichi called, ducking under the tape and holding it up for Yachi.

“Used syringes,” Watari said, holding up the bag. “I thought Shimizu-sensei said there weren’t any track marks, though.”

“Send them off anyways. Could be relevant,” Yachi said, brows furrowing. “Koganegawa? What do you have?”

“I think there’s something buried over here,” Koganegawa replied, pointing to a small mound. “Looks like keys?”

Shirabu appeared to snap pictures and place an evidence marker. “Pick it up then.”

Koganegawa nodded and obeyed. “Yeah, keys. Car keys, house keys, maybe a mailbox, and…a drugstore member rewards card?”

“We’ll see if Kei has a way to identify the owner from that,” Daichi said, holding open an evidence bag for him.

“No one’s happened to find a wallet, have they?” Yachi asked, glancing around the ground.

“Sorry, Detective Yachi, no,” Watari sighed. “Trust me, we’ve been looking.”

“Detectives,” Kawanishi called, holding up a burner phone. “Got something.”

“Is it working?” Yachi asked, jogging over.

Kawanishi nodded, handing it over.

“Alright, thanks.”

Daichi watched her call up Tsukishima while looking at the phone’s call log.

“Hey, Tsukki, can you search up a number for me please? Thank you!”

Daichi smiled. _She’s already a great detective._

 

It had been a long, grueling day, but Daichi wasn’t so naïve as to think he was going home any time soon. He had several late nights ahead of him until this was sorted.

“Daichi-san!” Yamaguchi leaned against his desk. “When you have a moment, Tsukki’s got something for you!”

“Thank you, Yamaguchi.”

Yamaguchi headed off again, probably going on patrol soon. Daichi turned back to his desk, sorting through the current case file. He hoped that whatever Tsukishima had, it was a name for the victim.

“Ah! Daichi-san, Hajime-san!”

Daichi looked up to see Suga walking into the station.

“I’m here to pick up Ryuu,” he said, coming to Daichi’s desk.

“I’ll get Kuroo and Bo, then,” Daichi said, offering an awkward smile. _Why is he so beautiful? How?_

“Thanks!”

Daichi sent a quick text to Kuroo, then turned back to Suga. _Say something. Don’t be weird._

“Uh, so…how was work?” he asked, instantly wanting to kick himself. _Don’t sound like his husband, jeez._

“Same old, same old,” Suga sighed, hopping up on Daichi’s desk. “Just doing my rounds and all that. I wasn’t working the ER today, so it wasn’t eventful. What about you?”

“It was…busy,” Daichi said carefully. “And that’s about all I’m legally allowed to say.”

“Ooh, that means you’ve got an ongoing investigation, right?”

“Mhm,” Daichi confirmed, remembering to close the files on his desk. “Don’t worry, your son won’t be exposed to any dangers.”

“I know you’ll all take care of him,” Suga said dismissively.

“Heya, Pops,” Ryuu called.

“How was your day?” Suga asked.

“Boring,” Ryuu complained.

“Well, this is a punishment, so good,” Suga laughed. “Thanks for looking after him.”

“No, thank you for letting your son look after them,” Daichi countered.

“I’ll see you tomorrow – I’m working the late shift, so I get to drop him off this time.”

“See you tomorrow, Suga-san.”

Suga’s smile softened. “I’ll see you, Daichi-san.”

Daichi watched him go, and while the case was spinning in his head, he still couldn’t get Iwaizumi’s voice out of his head: _Say something to him, or I’m asking him out on a date._

He groaned. What an ultimatum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is DaiSuga but I really love 1) WRITING CRIME SOLVING STUFF IT MAKES ME NOSTALGIC FOR FORENSICS/CRIMINOLOGY/LAW&ORDER CLASSES and 2) Yachi Hitoka the love of my life and the most beautiful human on the face of the earth, please love her, look at her doing her best, here she is, our queen coming to save us all, gsjhafkdjs (I literally changed my twitter profile pic to her bc I just love her so much)
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://www.twitter.com/awkwardfangirl6) and scream with me about Haikyuu!! and other shit
> 
> Also?? I'm having a hard time choosing an anime to watch next so if you want, please take [this poll](https://twitter.com/awkwardfangirl6/status/1146576405494456321) and help me out kjgfs thanks


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